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British Nuclear Group was able to model how programme management would change their organisational blueprint and positively affect their ability to win competitive bids in a changed environment where previously, they had not needed to be competitive.

Opportunity

The Reactor Sites division of British Nuclear Group has undergone tremendous change as it responded to government plans to clean-up the UK’s nuclear legacy. From April 2005, all 11 of its nuclear power stations were to be managed as programmes of work under contracts renewed and awarded by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA).

The NDA aims to get best value for the tax payer by putting out to competition the clean-up work, which it estimated to cost over £40bn. From when bidding started, BNG had to compete hard to retain its existing business. If it lost a contract, it would have had to hand over its operations to a management team from one of its rivals.

Approach

The challenge to create a programmes-based business led Geoff Simms, Programmes Director, to turn to CITI. He knew he needed external programme support to embed superior programme management into each reactor site. He also needed to present the “programme for programme management” in vivid and compelling terms to his executive colleagues. If they were to embrace the disciplines and benefits of programme management, they had to see up-front what it meant for them.

Fortunately, the strategic implementation process (SIP) from CITI starts with the very envisioning process that Geoff needed to engage his fellow directors. By working with CITI’s SIP consultant, Geoff was quickly able to draw some powerful pictures describing programme management for reactor sites.

However, the SIP work did much more than just describe the “To-Be” for programme management. It also set out the tangible benefits that programme management would offer to the Reactor Sites division and the competitive advantage that would be created in relation to the NDA.

Outcome

By using SIP tools and techniques, Geoff and the CITI consultant team were able to identify the impacts that the “programme for programme management” would have to make, the products that would have to be delivered to trigger those impacts and the resultant blueprint for the business. The blueprint showed Geoff’s colleagues how programme management would plug into the reactor sites and transform their ability to meet the expectations of their demanding new customer: the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, working on behalf of the taxpayer.